For the last few months, I’ve been elaborating on the idea that Christian writing is distinct from other writing in that it’s primarily an act of stewardship. I’ve also defined Christian writing and discussed some motivations for Christian writing. In this next-to-last installment of the series, I will answer the question, “What should Christians write?”
To put it simply, Christians should write content that edifies and encourages the church.
In a previous article, I mentioned before that I think Christian writing is primarily directed toward the church, but the words edify and encourage can mean different things for different people, particularly when it comes to how a reader receives our writing. There are a host of factors—tone, word choice, subject matter, the reader’s context and preferences, etc—that can determine if a he or she perceives our writing as edifying and encouraging.
If we write based on the whims of our audience or ourselves, then edifying and encouraging writing could be anything from fluffy-feel-good articles to discernment blogs and everything in between. Fortunately, there’s a way to avoid the flakiness that would surely result from this approach.
Begin with Scripture and Build on Experience
Once again, Christian writers are reminded of two things. First, we are reminded that Scripture must be our starting point—our baseline—when we write. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says,
All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
If we are stewarding all that God has given us through His word in our writing, then our content should reflect what God’s word does. The keyword here is reflect. Our own words are not the inerrant, infallible Scriptures. However, if our writing is grounded in Scripture, then our words point the church to God’s words, which then teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness.
This leads to our second reminder, which is that writing is not a replacement for our embodied ministry. Christian writers must first be part of a local church, worshipping and serving alongside fellow believers in-person. Our writing can then build off of our personal experience in the local church and be an additional way to fulfill some of the “one another” commands in Scripture.
As we steward God’s word through articles, books, and other types of writing, we “teach and admonish” one another (Colossians 3:16), “build one another up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11), “encourage one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:18), “instruct one another” (Romans 15:14), “speak truth to one another” (Ephesians 4:25), and “serve one another” (1 Peter 4:10).
If our writing is grounded in Scripture and flows from our embodied ministry in our local church, then we will naturally produce content that is truly edifying and encouraging to our broader audience. That said, for the writer who wishes to produce consistent, quality writing, then there is a bit of strategy involved as well.
The Christian Writer’s Content Strategy
A while back, I heard someone say that the best strategy for online communication—via social media, blogs, or other medium—is to promote what you feel positive about and ignore that with which you disagree. While some may disagree with this approach, I humbly submit that this is the approach most frequently taken by those who seek to be present with their audience over building a platform.
I believe this approach follows to the instructions Colossians 3 gives us: set your minds on things above. If we are regularly pointing out what we believe is bad, if we are solely seeking to correct or rebuke, or consistently arguing with others online, then eventually all we’ll see is what is bad. We’ll stop being able to see what is good. We look too low when we constantly point out the church’s shortcomings, and we stop edifying and encouraging the church. It’s not good for our own hearts either.
I do think there is an exception to this, which I elaborate on below. In general, though, if we focus our writing on God, steward His words, and seek to be present with our audience, then we will primarily focus on the things above in our writing.
Consider Philippians 4:8. In this verse, Paul tells the Philippians:
Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.
So, then, the Christian writer’s content should be Christ-centered and characterized by that which Philippians 4:8 tells us to focus on.
I believe that one writer who demonstrates this well is Tim Challies. In a 2016 interview, he advised aspiring writers who desire to defend the faith in the blogosphere. He used an illustration that you may have heard before: bankers best learn how to recognize counterfeit money not by studying the bad money, but by studying good money. Bankers are far better and recognizing fake money when they become experts in identifying the real thing.
In the same interview, Challies said that bloggers should “focus on what is good, what is pure, what is holy and lovely. If we teach people to know and love what is good, all that is evil will stand out in ugly contrast.” Challies and other writers like him seem to be more present with their audience than those who are constantly rebuking the church online—and I am more likely to be encouraged, edified, and even constructively corrected by their writing than by those who have a snarky response to every Christian controversy that crops up online.
There is one caveat, though.
An Exception to the “Rule”
While I do think the best and primary strategy for Christian writing is that which I described above, I also believe there is a place for speaking out against shortcomings in the church. The most obvious example is of those who are speaking out against sexual abuse in the church and working to bring justice to sexual abuse victims. In circumstances like this, correction and rebuke in various forms, including writing, are appropriate and we must do everything we can to bring these grievous sins to light, particularly when it is a large-scale issue within the church at large.
If we do write something that seeks to correct or rebuke, then I think the most effective way to do this is, as I discussed above, first remaining immersed in God’s word and present in our local church ministry. Then, if a situation arises that does warrant a response online, we have both Scripture and ministry experience as the foundation for our writing. Not only that, but when we’re personally involved in our local church, we then have a church community who can hold us accountable to speaking truth in love.
If we seek to be present with our audience and steward God’s word well, then our writing should always have a tone of grace and humility. If our goal is to build up and equip the church for every good work—to edify and encourage it—then we will focus on writing content whose purpose is to point the church to God’s word, which teaches and trains for righteousness, for the sake of our audience’s progress and joy in the faith.
